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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29795262">get knocked down, get back up again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitastrophes94/pseuds/kitastrophes94'>kitastrophes94</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>JatP Bingo [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020), Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Broken Bones, Canon Compliant, F/M, Hospital Scenes, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Light Angst, Post-Canon, jatpbingo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:54:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,345</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29795262</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitastrophes94/pseuds/kitastrophes94</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a freak accident, Julie is left nursing a broken arm.  Thankfully, the boys are there to help her through it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Mercer &amp; Julie Molina &amp; Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie Peters, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>JatP Bingo [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2190123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Julie and the Phantoms Bingo Challenge</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>get knocked down, get back up again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written to fulfill one of my JatP Bingo squares - injury!</p><p>Let's say I took some creative liberties with the hospital scenes and call it a day.  Nothing too graphic here, folks, we're at a G rating!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It happened almost in slow motion.</p><p>Julie didn’t know how it happened.  One moment, they were giving an epic performance of the last song on their set, a new anthem Julie and Luke had written together.  The lights were flashing and they were all having the time of their life, feeding off the energy of the crowd.</p><p>She had been bouncing, vibing with Alex while Luke and Reggie had their duet, and as she turned to join in, her feet got caught up in… something.  A cord, maybe, or perhaps even each other.  All she knew was that before she knew it, the stage came rushing up to meet her, and, panicked, she threw out her free arm to catch herself.</p><p>Her hand hit the stage, her arm bent entirely the wrong way, and there was a loud crack.  Julie cried out, sprawling forward, and her head hit the stage, sending bright spots into her vision.  She whimpered, screwing her eyes shut.</p><p>The music spluttered out and the concerned murmuring in the crowd changed to a shocked gasp as the boys no doubt disappeared.  She could hear Luke calling her name and sense someone crouching down beside her.</p><p>“Julie?  Are you okay?” she heard Flynn’s voice.  Julie tried to move her arm and the pain that had been creeping up her arm blossomed until she couldn’t feel anything else.  She cried out, tears springing from the corners of her eyes.</p><p>“Call an ambulance!” Flynn shouted, hardly the cool and collected girl she usually was anymore.  Julie didn’t hear any more, though, as she slipped out of consciousness, jolts of pain shooting up her arm.</p><p>Her next coherent thought was when she woke for a moment in the ambulance.   Julie blinked and Luke’s face flickered into view, upside down.  He was hovering over her, his eyes wide, his face as white as… well, a ghost.  She chuckled at the thought, but that jostled her arm and she whimpered with pain.</p><p>“You’re gonna be okay, Julie,” Luke said quickly, crouching down, out of the way as the paramedic attended to her.  “I promise you’re gonna be okay, and you’ll be performing again in no time.  I’m gonna be here the whole time, I promise, and you’re gonna be okay.”</p><p>As the pain got to be too much again and Julie stared to fade out, she couldn’t help but think about the last time Luke had been in an ambulance, and suddenly the fear in his eyes made a lot more sense and she told herself she wasn’t about to let this be her bad hot dog.</p><p>She woke next in a hospital bed with her arm in a splint and her dad sitting in the chair beside her.</p><p>“Dad?” Julie mumbled, turning her head slowly to the side.</p><p>Ray sat up, putting the newspaper he had been reading down on his lap.  “Julie?  Oh, thank God… how are you feeling?”</p><p>Absently, Julie wondered where the boys were.  “I’m… not sure…” she replied, trying to lift her arm.  A dull, muted pain rippled through her and she squeezed her eyes shut.  “Ow…”</p><p>“Don’t try to move it, <em>mija</em>,” her dad said, leaning forward.</p><p>The curtain surrounding the bed was swept aside and a tall doctor stepped in.</p><p>“Hello, Julie,” he said brightly, thumbing through a clipboard.  “Glad to see you’re awake.  I’m Doctor Atkins, and I’ll be looking after you tonight.  I’m just going to ask you a couple of questions, okay?”  He set the clipboard aside and pulled out a penlight, stepping closer to her.  “Can you tell me your full name?”</p><p>“Juliana Rose Molina,” she said, wincing as he shone the light into her eyes.</p><p>“Great, that’s fantastic,” the doctor said, smiling warmly at her.  “And can you squeeze my hand for me?”  He held one hand in front of her and Julie lifted her good arm, wrapping trembling fingers around his hand and squeezing.  “Excellent, thank you.”  He grabbed the clipboard and made a couple of notes.  “What’s the date today, Julie?”</p><p>She had to think about it for a second.  “February 6<sup>th</sup>,” Julie said, confused about all the questions.</p><p>“And the year?”</p><p>“2021.”</p><p>“Perfect.  Do you know where you are?”  The doctor continued checking her vitals.</p><p>“I’m at the hospital.”</p><p>“And do you know why?”</p><p>“I hurt my arm,” she murmured, her eyes falling on the splint around her right forearm.</p><p>Doctor Atkins nodded.  “And do you remember how that happened?”</p><p>Julie glanced over at her father and he gave her an encouraging nod.  “I was performing with my band… we’re a hologram band, they’re in, er, Sweden.”  Was it Sweden she had said before?  She couldn’t remember.  “I tripped at the end of the last song in the set and… I tried to catch my fall.”</p><p>“That’s very good, Julie.  You’re doing great.”  The doctor gave her another warm smile, walking around to her other side.  “So, you might have hit your head when you fell, so I’d like to admit you for the night to make sure you don’t have a concussion.  We’re going to have to get some more x-rays of your arm in the morning, too, but it looks like you might have broken both the bones in your forearm.”  He pulled out a diagram and showed her.  “See, right there.  That’s the radius, and the ulna.  Sometimes when you land on your arm a certain way, they’ll fracture, or break.  Thankfully, they didn’t break the skin,” he explained, going on to tell Julie what he would do to treat her.  All Julie could do was nod along.  “For now, I’m going to give you something for the pain, and we’ll get you admitted and into a comfier bed for the night.  Your father is more than welcome to stay here with you.  Speaking of… Mr Molina, could we have a word outside?”</p><p>Her dad rose to his feet.  “Thank you, Doctor Atkins.  Julie, <em>mija</em>, get some rest.”  Both men disappeared behind the curtain, and Julie leaned her head back, trying to ignore the pain radiating from her arm.</p><p>She heard the poof and craned her neck.  Luke was standing by the curtain, his expression hesitant.</p><p>“Hey,” he said, his voice strangely choked up.  “How are you feeling?”</p><p>“My arm hurts,” Julie replied, squeezing her eyes shut as another wave of pain washed over her.  “The doctor said I—ah… I probably broke both the bones in my forearm.”</p><p>Luke took a half step closer to her, wrapping his arms around himself.  “You’re gonna be okay, though, right?”</p><p>She nodded.  “I’ll be fine.  Carlos fractured his wrist a couple of years ago, and he was fine.  I have to stay here overnight because they think I might have gotten a concussion, though,” she told him.</p><p>“I’ll stay with you,” Luke blurted, immediately trying to play it cool by tugging off his beanie and running his fingers through his hair.</p><p>Julie snorted.  “I didn’t know you cared so much,” she teased, forgetting herself and moving her injured arm.  She only got it an inch before the searing pain came over her and she hissed through gritted teeth.</p><p>Luke was instantly by her side, his hand hovering over her shoulder.  “You’re okay, Jules.  I’m here.”</p><p>She smiled faintly up at him and was about to speak when the curtain opened again, and her dad and the doctor stepped through.</p><p>“Alright, Julie, I have some medicine here that’ll help with the pain and swelling,” Doctor Atkins said, handing her a small paper cup with two pills and setting a cup of water on the table beside her.</p><p>“Thanks,” Julie said, tipping the pills into her mouth and reaching for the water to wash them down.</p><p>“He seems too cheerful,” Luke commented from his vantage point opposite the doctor.  “You sure he’s a good doctor?  You deserve only the best.”  He tilted his head, clearly trying to sound nonchalant, although the slight hesitation in the way he spoke betrayed his true emotions about the situation.</p><p>All Julie could do in return was roll her eyes at him, since the doctor was still hovering over her, checking her vitals one more time, and her dad was back to sitting in the chair beside her.</p><p>“Oh, Reggie doesn’t like hospitals,” Luke added, circling around the bed to stay in Julie’s sight.  “Alex is sitting with him outside.  They might come in later to say hi, though.”</p><p>“Someone will take you up to your room shortly.  If you have any more questions, you can call for me,” Doctor Atkins said, overlapping with Luke a bit.  “I’ll see you in the morning for that x-ray!”</p><p>“Alright, sounds good,” Julie said, although it was more directed at Luke than the doctor.  The curtain was pulled back, and Julie was left in the room with her dad and Luke.</p><p>“Oh, I forgot,” Ray said, leaning forward.  “Flynn said she texted the boys to let them know what happened, and they hope you’re alright.  I told her I’d call in the morning and give her an update, if that’s alright with you?”</p><p>“Of course,” Julie said quickly, glancing sideways at Luke.  “Let her know she can tell the boys anything you tell her.”</p><p>“Will do.  Victoria took Carlos home, but I’ll stay here with you?”</p><p>Julie met her dad’s gaze.  He looked exhausted, and her eyelashes fluttered as she glanced downwards.  “You go home and get some rest.  I’ll be fine tonight, I promise.  They’ll probably have a nurse checking on me because of the concussion thing.”</p><p>Ray frowned.  “Are you sure?”</p><p>“I’m sure,” Julie asserted, feeling Luke’s eyes boring into her.</p><p>“Alright.  I’ll stay until you’re in your room, and then I’ll go home,” her dad said, and she nodded.</p><p>It wasn’t long before she was moved to her own private room.  When her dad left, Julie lay back on the bed, acutely aware of the splint holding her arm still.  While it didn’t hurt so much now, thanks to the painkillers, it was still uncomfortable.  Luke hadn’t poofed into the room, yet, and the reality of what had happened suddenly came crashing down on her.  Julie squeezed her eyes shut, sniffling.  The tears came shortly after that, and she tried to stifle her sobs, lest the nurse hear her.</p><p>There were three telltale poofs, and she paused, holding her breath.</p><p>“Julie?”  Reggie’s voice was small, tentative, and she cracked her eyes open.</p><p>The boys were standing at the foot of the bed, watching her carefully.  Reggie was clinging to Alex’s shoulder, his face pale, while Alex stood with his hands clasped tightly in front of him, chewing his lip.  Luke was off to the side, his beanie twisted in his hands.</p><p>“Hey, guys,” she murmured, offering what she hoped was an encouraging smile.  “Please don’t tell me I’m the first one of us to end up in the hospital.”</p><p>“Well,” Luke started, walking closer to her, “I mean, we kind of died, so I think we have you beat.”</p><p>Julie chuckled, shrugging her good shoulder.  “True.”</p><p>“Luke sprained his wrist really badly when we were just getting started,” Alex said, glancing Luke’s way.  “But that’s about it.”</p><p>“Yeah, and he whined the whole time he couldn’t play,” Reggie chimed in.</p><p>“I didn’t whine,” Luke retorted, shooting a glare Reggie’s way.</p><p>“You kind of whined,” Alex said, offering a weak chuckle.</p><p>“Did not!”</p><p>“Guys, as much as I love the entertainment,” Julie started.  The boys instantly clammed up, all eyes on her.  “I’m tired.  I think I’m going to try to get some sleep, and you three should, too.”</p><p>“We’re ghosts, we don’t need to sleep,” Reggie said, his eyes flicking every which way, although she noticed he adamantly avoided looking at the machines behind her.  Absently, he was picking at the skin on his fingertips, a sure sign that he was nervous and uncomfortable.</p><p>Julie sighed.  “Even still, you should rest.  And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”</p><p>Alex peeled himself away from a reluctant Reggie, walking up to the other side of the bed, opposite Luke.  “You sure?”</p><p>“Yes!” Julie exclaimed, forcing a chuckle.  “I just have to wait a couple of days for the swelling to go down, and then I’ll get a cast, and then it’ll just be a matter of waiting for it to heal.  It’s not like I’m dying or anything.”</p><p>The three boys all froze, staring at her, and Julie instantly regretted her choice of words.</p><p>“I—I mean—”</p><p>“We get it,” Alex cut in, offering her a wry smile.  “We’ll see you in the morning.”</p><p>“You’ll be back to your old self before you know it,” Luke added, although Julie knew him well enough by now to notice that his smile wasn’t reaching his eyes.</p><p>“Oh!  I want to be the first one to sign your cast when you get it,” Reggie chimed in, raising his pointer finger in the air.  “Do you want me to draw a turtle or a puppy?”</p><p>Julie giggled for real that time.  “Surprise me,” she said, arching an eyebrow at him.</p><p>Reggie nodded, hopping backwards and poofing away.  Alex followed, but Luke lingered.  There was a long awkward silence, during which Julie watched him shift his weight (if he even had weight – they still hadn’t quite figured that part out) from side to side.  He looked like he wanted to say something, but it kept catching in his throat as he kept swallowing, his throat bobbing.  She tried not to look at it, instead letting her eyes meet his.</p><p>“What?” Julie asked, folding her good arm across her chest.</p><p>“I, uh…” Luke started, rubbing the back of his neck.  “You don’t have to be brave about this, y’know… it’s okay to be, er…”</p><p>“Scared?”</p><p>He let out a breath.  “Yeah.”</p><p>“I’m not scared.”</p><p>“You’re the one who said it,” he pointed out.</p><p>“I’m not, I swear,” Julie insisted, lowering her gaze.  She didn’t get why he was bringing it up.  “I’m just tired.”</p><p>Luke swallowed again.  “Goodnight, Julie.  I’ll come back in the morning.”</p><p>Julie nodded, keeping her lips pressed firmly together until he had poofed away.  Only then did she let her tears fall.</p><p>The hospital room was lonely, and she didn’t get much sleep.  Her arm lay there, a harsh reminder that she had hurt herself, that she had ruined what could have been a perfect performance.  When the nurse came to check on her, she turned her head to the side stubbornly, refusing to talk.  Finally, in the early hours of the morning, she dozed off.</p><p>Her father, aunt, and brother were all there in the morning, and amidst Victoria’s fussing over her, the boys poofed in, hanging back against the side of the room.  Julie was almost glad when the doctor arrived and she was wheeled out for her x-ray, thankful for the peace and quiet.  After the x-ray and detailed instructions from the doctor, Julie was discharged to go home for a few days.</p><p>Flynn was in her room when Julie got home, twisting her hands together.  When she saw Julie, she bounced forward, her eyes wide.</p><p>“How are you—”</p><p>“I’m fine,” Julie interrupted, letting out a breath.  “Trust me, I’ve heard those words way too much lately.”  She nodded down at her arm, carefully wrapped in a sling.  “I’m going to get a cast in a couple of days, and then it’ll just be the waiting game.”</p><p>“When you fell last night…” Flynn breathed, biting her lip.  “I was so worried about you.”</p><p>“You have nothing to be worried about,” Julie said, reaching out with her good arm and taking Flynn’s hand in hers.  “I’m not going anywhere.”</p><p>“That’s a relief,” Flynn said, giving her a gentle, careful hug.  “And at least you have an excuse to stay home from school for the next few days.”</p><p>“Plenty of time to write songs.”  Julie giggled.  “Luke’s gonna be over the moon.”</p><p>“Speaking of, where are the boys, anyway?”</p><p>Julie frowned.  “They were at the hospital this morning, but I didn’t really get a chance to talk to them.  Maybe they’re in the studio… but there’s no way my dad or <em>Tia</em> are going to let me go down there.”</p><p>“Alex and I have a system, now,” Flynn said, shrugging.  “I could go down there and see if they’re there, and tell them to come see you here?”</p><p>Julie shook her head, smiling.  “This is why I love you.”</p><p>“Come on, there’s plenty of reasons why you love me,” Flynn replied, booping Julie’s nose.  “Just sit back and relax, and your eye candy will be up here faster than you can say ghost band… or I’ll be back, and we can talk about the eye candy instead.”</p><p>When Flynn left her room, Julie sat on her bed, leaning back carefully.  The painkiller she had taken in the morning was starting to wear off, and her arm was starting to hurt, but she wasn’t about to admit that to anyone.  She still felt awful about ruining the otherwise perfect performance, and embarrassed about the trouble everyone was going through on her behalf.</p><p>It was going to be a long couple of months.</p><p>She was fighting the tears pricking in the corners of her eyes when Luke’s arm phased through her door and knocked.  Quickly, Julie sniffed, swiped the back of her hand across her eyes, and tried to keep her voice steady.</p><p>“Come in!”</p><p>First Luke, then Alex, and finally Reggie phased through, gathering awkwardly at the foot of her bed.</p><p>“Sorry we kind of disappeared earlier,” Luke said, rubbing the back of his neck.  “It got a bit chaotic at the hospital.”</p><p>“It’s fine,” Julie said, offering them a wry smile.</p><p>“Just let us know if there’s anything we can do for you,” Alex added, adjusting the strap on his fanny pack.  “We’re here for you.”</p><p>“Yeah, like we could sing for you!  And you could pretend it’s coming from your, err… laptop!”  Reggie looked proud of himself for remembering modern technology, and Julie giggled.</p><p>“Thanks, guys.  I mean it.”  She winced as a dull ache spread through her arm, and Luke took a half step forward.</p><p>“What is it?” he asked, a concerned look on his face.</p><p>“Nothing,” Julie replied, although she could tell neither Luke, nor Alex were convinced.  Reggie, on the other hand, was distracted by the butterflies hanging from her ceiling, reaching out and playing with them.</p><p>The next few days were rough, but Julie somehow made it through and soon she was back at the hospital, getting her cast on.  True to his word, Reggie poofed into the back of the car as her dad drove her home with her new “accessory” as Flynn had called it the night before, brandishing a marker.</p><p>“Are you ready for your surprise?” he asked.</p><p>Julie could only hum in response.  Even though her dad was listening to an old timey radio station, she didn’t want to risk talking out loud.  Reggie smirked, reaching over as Julie carefully positioned her arm so he would have access to it.  She closed her eyes, wanting to be surprised by what he drew.</p><p>Reggie hummed as he worked, pausing every so often to say something to her dad, who remained blissfully unaware.  Finally, he loudly announced he was finished.</p><p>Julie opened her eyes, looking down.  Just at the crook of her elbow, Reggie had drawn the <em>Julie and the Phantoms</em> logo with a puppy face next to her name.  Below that, he had written his initials.</p><p>“Whadya think?” he asked, capping the marker and beaming at her.</p><p>“I love it,” she murmured, reaching out with her other hand and hovering it over his knee, meeting his gaze and trying to show with her eyes just how much she appreciated it.</p><p>When she got home, she convinced her dad she was fine to go alone to her room and rest.  He reluctantly let her go and she headed up.  Alex was waiting outside her room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him.</p><p>“Aw, were you waiting for me?” she teased as he opened the door for her.</p><p>“Nah, just enjoying the view.  Of your door.  It’s a nice door,” Alex replied.</p><p>Julie sat on the edge of her bed, cradling her injured arm.  “Wouldn’t Willie be a much better view?”</p><p>“Luke wanted me to let him know how you were after getting the cast,” Alex blurted, leaning back on the beanbag chair.  “He didn’t want to crowd you when you first got home so he sent me instead.”</p><p>“Oh,” Julie said simply, lying back on her pillows.  “Is he going to come up later?”</p><p>“That’s what he said.”  Alex didn’t sound convinced, though.</p><p>Julie didn’t get it.  Luke had been by her side most of her waking hours for the past couple of days, and now he wasn’t there to see her?  She had half expected to see him at the hospital, but to no avail.</p><p>“Well, you can tell him I’m fine,” she said, shrugging her good shoulder.  “Doctor Atkins was really happy with how it looked before he put the cast on, and he said I should be fine after about six weeks.”</p><p>“I’ll let him know,” Alex said, his eyes downcast.</p><p>“Wanna sign it?”  She nodded down at her arm.</p><p>Alex didn’t hesitate, going to her bookshelf and finding a marker.  He settled on the bed next to her, offering her a terse smile before bending over and writing his name in a small, neat script, along with an equally small heart.</p><p>“I see Reggie got his wish,” he commented as Julie appreciated his penmenship.</p><p>“Yeah, and he went for the puppy.  It’s kinda cute,” Julie said, grinning at him.</p><p>Flynn came to visit her later that afternoon, signing her name in large block letters (“Best friend rights say I get the largest real estate on the arm”), and Carlos came in after her and wrote his name in equally large letters on the other side.</p><p>Luke waited until the evening to poof into her room while she was busy using voice-to-text to get caught up on some schoolwork, having given up on any hope of seeing him that evening.</p><p>“Hey,” Luke said, his voice contrite.</p><p>Julie glanced up and stared down her bed at him.  “Where have you been?”</p><p>Luke had the grace to look apologetic.  “Would you believe me if I said I was working on music?”  She arched an eyebrow, and he sighed.  “Worth a shot.  Remember when the guys said I sprained my wrist?”</p><p>Julie nodded.  “When you totally didn’t whine?”</p><p>“Yeah, that.”  Luke shuffled his feet, sticking his hands in his pockets.  “The truth is, that kind of freaked me out a bit, not being able to play for a while, and all.  And when you got hurt, that kind of brought back those memories.”</p><p>All she could do was nod slowly, watching him as he continued.</p><p>“I know I told you I’d be there for you, and I’m gonna keep that promise.  I just had to get myself ready to see you with… that… on your arm.”  Luke nodded at her cast, pressing his lips in a thin line.  “I’m sorry it took me a while.”</p><p>Julie was quiet for a moment.  Then, she sighed.  “I forgive you.  You’ll have to claim your spot on the cast now, though, before more people show up tomorrow.”</p><p>He laughed, reaching for the market on her nightstand and leaning over.  “You’ll be up and at ‘em soon enough, Jules,” he said, careful not to lean too much into her.  They hadn’t quite figured out the rules of when the boys were tangible and when they weren’t, and Luke in particular was extra careful with her, especially now with her broken arm.</p><p>He was so close that Julie was certain she would have smelled his aftershave if he weren’t a ghost, and the thought made her cheeks redden as he took his time to scrawl out his name.</p><p>“Make sure I can read it,” she teased, trying to deflect from the way she had been holding her breath.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” Luke replied, straightening up and tossing the marker away.  “How’s that?”</p><p>She glanced down at her arm.  The writing was unmistakeably Luke’s, although he had made an effort to make it more legible, and he had written his name, as well as “get well soon, boss”.</p><p>“Very nice,” she praised him, and giggled as he beamed across at her.</p><p>They were quiet for a moment, then she let out a breath.  “Can I tell you something?”</p><p>“Anything, Julie, you know that.”</p><p>“I feel awful about this.  About not being able to rehearse properly.  About ruining that performance.”  She felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes again.  “And I’m so worried I won’t be able to play piano again.”</p><p>“Hey, hey.  Stop that.  You didn’t ruin anything,” Luke said, leaning in close to her.  “We’re going to get through this, you and me, and Alex and Reggie, and Flynn.  And your family.  We’re all here for you.  And you’re gonna play piano.  You just need time to heal.”</p><p>Julie bit her lip.  “It’s just so…”</p><p>“So what?”</p><p>“Embarrassing.  I tripped over a cord, and now I can’t write anything down.  I could be going to school, but I’m so embarrassed to ask for a scribe, or anything.”</p><p>Luke was quiet for a moment.  “You don’t have to be embarrassed.  That could have happened to anyone.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s happened to major artists before.  It was a freak accident, that’s all.”  He bent down, meeting her gaze.  “Don’t you worry about it.  It’s all gonna be okay.”</p><p>Julie sniffled.  “You’re sure?”</p><p>“Positive.”</p><p>“Okay,” she said, turning her head to the side.  “Sorry I keep crying.”</p><p>Luke shook his head, chuckling.  “It’s all good.  If the boys could handle me whining for a week, I can handle you crying.”</p><p>That made her giggle, which made him smile.  After a moment, he shrugged.</p><p>“I’m gonna go, now,” he said, reaching across and hovering his hand over her shoulder.  “You get some rest.”</p><p>Julie couldn’t help it.  She turned her cheek ever-so-slightly, and for the briefest moment she could have sworn she felt his hand against her skin.</p><p>“Goodnight, Luke,” she murmured, glancing up at him through her lashes.</p><p>“’Night, boss,” he replied, pulling away and poofing out of her room.</p><p>Within two more days, people she didn’t even know she knew from school were showing up at her bedroom door, asking how she was doing and if they could sign her cast.  Luke kept his promise, hanging out in her room every afternoon, and they worked on a new song for the band together in between visits from “friends”.  Alex and Reggie came in the evenings, and Reggie told her jokes in an attempt to cheer her up while Alex’s hand seemed to be permanently attached to his forehead.</p><p>On the eighth day, Julie’s arm was so sore, the painkillers weren’t helping.  After another kid from school left, she leaned back against her pillows, squeezing her eyes shut.  The dull ache grew, and she couldn’t help the tears starting to leak from the corners of her eyes.  She groaned, clenching her teeth against the pain, until she almost missed the telltale poof.</p><p>“Julie?” Luke whispered, coming up beside her.  “You okay?”  She had insisted he take at least one afternoon off from visiting her, much to his chagrin.</p><p>“It hurts,” she muttered, her eyes still closed.  “A lot.”</p><p>“Hey, hey,” he said, and she felt his presence next to her.  His hand brushed against hers, tentatively at first, as if to check that they could touch, and then he took her hand in his.  “Don’t think about it.  Listen to me.”  He started to sing the chorus of the song they had been working on, his voice low.</p><p>Julie tried to focus on his singing, cracking an eye open.  When he noticed her watching him, Luke grinned, putting more energy into the song.  At the end of the chorus, he moved seamlessly into the bridge, waggling his eyebrows at her.</p><p>Julie let out a puff of air, starting to sing with him.  She took the melody, while he switched to a harmony line, beaming at her the entire time.  As they sang together, Julie forgot about the pain in her arm, focusing only on Luke lying next to her.</p><p>At the end of the bridge, they both stopped haltingly, realizing they hadn’t worked out the next part of the song yet.  Julie gave a nervous chuckle.</p><p>“Well, I guess we know what we have to work on next,” Luke said, and they both laughed.</p><p>“Thanks, Luke,” she said, glancing down at their joined hands.  “That really helped.”</p><p>He grinned bashfully.  “Music always helps,” he said, sitting up, careful not to jostle her.  “At least you didn’t damage your vocal chords.  That would have been a real tragedy.”</p><p>Julie burst out into loud laughter, but quickly realized what she was doing and pulled her hand free from his, clapping it over her mouth.  That only got Luke laughing, and she nearly had to stuff her fist into her mouth to stop herself from laughing more.</p><p>Alex and Reggie chose that moment to poof into her room, no doubt taking in the sight as they looked at Julie and Luke, Alex’s eyebrows arched and a pleasant grin on Reggie’s face.</p><p>“Having fun?” Reggie asked, going for the beanbag chair.</p><p>Alex leaned against the wall.  “We could hear you two laughing from out in the hall.”</p><p>Julie flushed.  “We were just—”</p><p>“We get it,” Alex cut her off, chuckling.  “How’re you doing?”</p><p>Glad for the change in subject, Julie glanced down at her cast, now covered in marker.  “It’s getting there.  I’m going to see the doctor tomorrow to get it looked at.  Five more weeks to go.”</p><p>“Next week, you should try to convince your dad to let you go down to the studio,” Luke said, pushing himself off the bed and going to stand behind Reggie, his hands on their bandmate’s shoulders.  “You don’t need your arm to sing with us.”</p><p>“I think Ray would be just fine with that,” Reggie chimed in happily.  “He was talking about how he wanted you to keep going with your music, earlier, while we were hanging.”</p><p>“You mean, while you were sitting behind him, narrating everything he did,” Alex said dryly.</p><p>“My time with Ray is very valuable!” Reggie retorted, his voice light and airy.  “He gets me.”</p><p>“Okay,” Alex breathed, rolling his eyes, although he was smiling.</p><p>Julie giggled.  “I think I can convince him, though I might enlist Flynn to help.”</p><p>“Oh, speaking of Flynn,” Alex cut in, “she was asking me earlier if we wanted to maybe put an old performance on the Youtube?  Just to make sure our fans don’t get worried about us?”</p><p>“That’s a great idea,” Julie replied, grinning.  “I trust her to put that together, since I’ll be focusing on keeping up with school.”  She didn’t miss the way Luke’s face twisted at that, though she knew it was just for show.  He knew school was important to her, even if he didn’t agree with it all the time.</p><p>Reggie slid up onto the bed next to her, tentatively reaching for her hand.  When they connected, he squeezed her hand.  “You’re gonna get through this, Julie,” he said, patting her knee with his other hand.</p><p>“Thanks, Reg,” she replied, smiling at him.</p><p>Alex pushed off the wall, sitting on the edge of the bed on her other side.  “We’re here for you.”</p><p>“All of us,” Luke added, meeting her gaze.  “And when you get that cast off, we’ll be back to performing like nothing ever changed.”</p><p>Julie nodded, leaning back against her pillows.  It was going to be a long couple of months, she knew it, but at least she had the boys to help her through it all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Comments and kudos make my day!</p><p>Check out my tumblr: @willexxmercer</p></blockquote></div></div>
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